Boost for cocoa farmers as gov’t increases pay to 70% of global price

In a bid to boost cocoa production in Ghana, the Minister for Food and Agriculture, Eric Opoku, has announced government plans to increase the proportion of the world cocoa price received by Ghanaian farmers from 60% to 70%.

Mr Opoku appears to be following through on his earlier criticisms of the previous government, which he accused of short-changing cocoa farmers.

This issue was a key point of contention and led to heated exchanges between Mr Opoku and former Minister of Agriculture, Dr Bryan Acheampong, during Mr Opoku’s vetting process after being nominated by President Mahama to oversee the agricultural sector.

Despite producing some of the highest-quality cocoa in the world, Ghana lags behind in terms of production volume—a challenge exacerbated by smuggling to neighbouring countries, where farmers seek better prices.

As the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, Mr Opoku hopes that this latest policy announcement will incentivise farmers to increase production, thereby boosting the economy.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, Mr Opoku reiterated the government’s commitment to revitalising the cocoa sector in response to declining cocoa processing output.

He stated:

“Since 2023, CPC’s production has been on a downward trend. Despite having a processing capacity of 64,500 tonnes, the company produced only 6,614 tonnes in 2023 and 2,886 tonnes in 2024. This decline is largely due to reduced cocoa bean production, which has affected supply to the processing company.”

“To address this challenge, I announced the government’s decision to exceed the initial 60% proposal and offer cocoa farmers 70% of the world market price. This increase is intended to motivate farmers, boost production, and further cement Ghana’s standing as the world’s second-largest producer of cocoa.”